CSULB Receives $5.8M for STEM Degrees

Leslie Agis

Cal State Long Beach received its second five-year grant of $5.8 billion from the U.S Department of Education’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI)-STEM and Articulation Program grant. The grant was given to increase the opportunity of getting more minorities involved in getting degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

The grant is for the colleges of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Engineering.

“This partnership between the colleges will impact a large number of students and place them in a better position to achieve success and confidence to become scientists and engineers,” said Eric Marinez, the project director and associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

The program – Strengthening the Impact by Providing Undergraduate Educational Development Opportunities – works to provide student academic success, by improving timely degree completion and retention, increasing degree attainment, as well as develop transfer programming.

It is target to first-year students to provide them with tools and resources to be successful.

Even though CSULB has had success in freshman and transfers graduation rates, when it comes to STEM, underrepresented minority students have fallen behind the non-underrepresented minority students. There is an achievement gap of 15.3 percent with the College of Engineer and 8.3 percent in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics. In addition, first-time Latino one-year retention rates are lower in the College of Engineering with 73.1 percent and 56.2 percent in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The overall percentage of the university is at 88.3 percent.

As for transfer students, the university three-year graduation rate is at 61 percent compared to the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at 30 percent and 25 percent in the College of Engineering.

In the year of 2015, CSULB presented the sixth most bachelorette degrees to Hispanics and minority students. In the last five years the representation of Latino/Hispanic undergraduate has increased, identifying them as the largest ethnic population on campus with 38 percent. Despite that only 32 percent are working under the College of Engineering and 31 percent in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

In 2005, CSULB obtained its HSI eligibility, where grants are awarded for areas of improvement and expansion. This is achieved when a non-profit institute has at least 25 percent full-time Hispanics and 50 percent are low-income.

The grant is beneficial to get minorities students to be competitive in STEM related professions.

leslie@beachcomber.news

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